Mounting means for electrical apparatus



y 30, 1967 R. A. MUKAl ETAL 3,322,926

MOUNTING MEANS FOR ELECTRICAL APPARATUS Filed Jan. 13, 1966 2Sheets-Sheet 1 13 31A L J y 30, 1967 R. A. MUKAI ETAL 3,322,926

MOUNTING MEANS FOR ELECTRICAL APPARATUS Filed Jan. 15, 1966 2Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,322,926 MOUNTING MEANS FORELECTRICAL APPARATUS Roy A. Mukai, Milwaukee, Allan P. Charbonneau,Wauwatosa, Joseph F. Waldorf, New Berlin, and Robert Pearson, Milwaukee,Wis., assiguors to Cutler-Hammer, Inc Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation ofDelaware Filed Jan. 13, 1966, Ser. No. 520,444 15 Claims. (Cl. 290-168)This invention relates to electrical apparatus adapted to be mounted onpanelboards, control stations or the like.

It is an object of this invention to provide improved means for thequick and convenient mounting of electrical apparatus of the typeassociated with pushbuttons, panel lights or the like.

It is another object of this invention to provide improved means formounting electrical apparatus of the one-hole panel mounting varietywhich apparatus consists of two major portions, a first portion such asan operator portion or the like adapted to be fastened directly to thepanel and a second portion such as a separable contact block portion orthe like adapted to be fastened behind the panel to the rear of thefirst portion.

It is a more specific object of this invention to provide mounting meansof the aforedescribed type which consists of means for fastening thefirst portion to the panel and additional means adapted to be fastenedto the second portion and to be further fastened to the rearward end ofthe first portion.

It is another specific object of this invention to provide mountingmeans of the :aforedescribed type which enables the contact blockportion or the like to be quickly and easily alined with and attached tothe rear of the operator portion or the like and permit the attachmentoperation to be accomplished in cramped and crowded spaces with commonlyavailable tools.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be evident to thoseskilled inthe art upon reference to the following description andclaims.

. While the device hereinafter described is adapted to fulfill'theobjects stated, it is to be understood that it is not intended that theinvention be confined to the particular preferred embodiment disclosedsince it is susceptible of various modifications without departing fromthe scope of the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of the exterior of a pushbuttonswitch assembly embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational vie-w of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partially sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4a is an exploded side elevational view of that portion of theapparatus which is rigidly fastened to the panel;

FIG. 4b is an exploded side elevational view of that portion of theapparatus which is removably fastened to the rear of the portion shownin FIG. 4a; 7

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 55 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a centerline sectional view of one of the parts of theassembly; and

FIG. 7 is a rear elevational view of the device with the uppermostcontact block removed.

Referring to the drawings, the electrical device illustrated has anoperator portion 2 adapted to be mounted in a circular hole 3 in a panel4. The moving elements of the operator portion 2 are supported within aretainer 5 having a rectangular shaped front portion 5a and acylindrical threaded bushing 5b extending from the rear thereof. Whenmounted on panel 4 the rectangular front portion 5a is on the front ofpanel 4 and spaced therefrom by a resilient gasket washer 6. A small key7 is formed on the periphery of bushing 5b at its juncture with portion5a to cooperate with a corresponding notch 8 formed in the edge ofmounting hole 3 and to thereby properly position retainer 5 and preventrotation thereof in panel 4. A nut 9 is threaded on the periphery ofbushing 5b and is tightened against the rear of panel 4 to secure theretainer 5 in place.

The operator portion or adapter assembly 2 is preferably illustrated ashaving a single pushbutton 10. It is to be understood that the operatoror adapter assembly 2 may include single or plural pushbuttons or rotaryoperators, single or plural pilot lights, or combinations thereof or thelike, without affecting the principles of this invention. The pushbuttonassembly 10 includes a cover 11 made of resilient plastic with tabs 11awhich snap over the edges of a pushbutton plate 12 to fasten cover 11 topushbutton plate 12.

An upper pushrod 13 and a lower pushrod 14 are securely fastened topushbutton plate 12. These two push rods are slidingly arranged inrespective apertures 15 and 16 in retainer 5. A pair of elastic seals 17are mounted within retainer 5 adjacent apertures 15 and 16 to surroundand resiliently engage pushrods 13 and 14. A pair of washers 18 coverseals 17. A pair of compression springs 19 are placed between washers 18and plate 12 to bias the pushbutton assembly outwardly. The pushbuttonassembly 10 is prevented from moving outwardly beyond the position shownin FIG. 3 by a pair of enlarged portions 20 formed on pushrods 13 and 14which engage the rear surface of retainer 5 when in their most forwardposition.

The assembly to be attached to the rear of retainer 5 comprises twocontact blocks 21 and 22 and a mounting device 23 therefor. Theseelements are illustrated in a disassembled form in FIG. 4b.

Contact blocks 21 and 22 are of identical construction, contact block 22being inverted with respect to contact block 21 when assembled to themounting device 23. Similar reference characters are used to identifythe similar parts of the two contact blocks 21 and 22. In FIG. 3,contact block 21 is sectioned to illustrate its internal mechanism.Contact block 21 has a housing 24 and cover 25 of molded insulatingmaterial and held together by a pair of rivets 26. A plunger 27 having acontact carrier portion 28 extends through contact block 21 andcommunicates with the exterior thereof through apertures formed inhousing 24 and cover 25. Plunger 27 is arranged to slide toward the rearagainst the bias of a compression spring 29 when pressed at its frontend. A bridging contact 30 is supported within an aperture in thecontact carrier portion 28. A compression spring 31 biases movablebridging contact 30 toward the front of contact carrier portion 28. Theends of bridging contact 30 cooperate with a pair of stationary contacts(not shown) mounted within housing 24. The ends of the stationarycontact members terminate at the exterior of contact block 21 in a pairof screw type terminals 32. A pair of lugs 33 formed on opposite sidesof contact carrier portion 28 engage the interior wall of housing 24 toprevent movement of plunger 28 beyond the forward surface of housing 24.Each contact block 21 and 22 is furnished with two mounting screws 34.The head of each screw is interiorly threaded to permit stacking of aplurality of similar contact blocks one behind the other. A pair of lugs35 are formed on the front surface of each contact block and acorresponding pair of recesses 36 (FIG. 7) are formed on the rearsurface to provide accurate alinement of the blocks when mounted.

It is to be understood that while the preferred embodiment illustratedincorporates two contact blocks 21 and 22 of a specific type, theapparatus attached to the car of mounting device 23 may instead compriseany lumber of other unitized or modular electrical devices :uch ascontact blocks, pilot light transformers, potentiomrter units, timerunits or combinations thereof.

The mounting device 23 comprises a cover 37, a latch ing 38, and amounting plate 39 having substantially :oncentric central apertures. Theplate 39 has a generally rectangular central aperture through which pushrods l3 and 14 communicate with the forward ends of plungers 27. Fourthreaded holes 40 are provided in plate 39 into which the ends ofmounting screws 34 are turned to fasten :ontact blocks 21 and 22 toplate 39. Two pairs of notches 41 are formed in the inner edge of plate35) to :ooperate with alining lugs 35 on the front faces of the :ontactblocks 21 and 22. Another pair of notches 42 are provided on the inneredge of plate 39 to cooperate with a pair of lugs 43 formed on the rearof pushbutton retainer 5. Notches 42 and lugs 43 serve to prevent rota-:ion of mounting device 23 with respect to retainer 5.

The plate 39 and cover 37 when fastened together form a housing in whichring 38 is rotatably held. The cover 37 is secured to plate 39 by fourprojections 44, the ends of which are peened over after insertionthrough corresponding holes in mounting plate 39.

A pair of inwardly extending lugs 45 are formed on the edge of thecentral aperture of latch ring 38. When latch ring 38 is placed over theend of the retainer bushing b, the lugs 45 which are slightly canted(see FIG. 6) cooperate with a corresponding pair of L-shaped camminggrooves 46 formed in bushing 51;. When latch ring 38 is turned in acounterclockwise direction with respect to FIG. 5, lugs 45 engage thecamming surfaces 47 in grooves 46 to firmly press the end of bushing 5bagainst plate 39. As the mechanism is tightened, the friction betweenthe parts tends to bend the mechanism to lock the catch ring 38 andthereby securely fasten the mounting device 23 in place on bushing 5b.

A lug 48 on the outer periphery of latch ring 38 moves as ring 38 isrotated between the depression 49 formed in cover 37 to limit therotation of latch ring 38. A toothed gear sector 50 is formed on theperiphery of latch ring 38 to cooperate with a mating gear sector 51.Gear sector 51 is fastened together with a spring washer 52 to a shaftmember 53. Shaft 53 is rotatably journaled in an aperture near the edgeof plate 39 and has a rearward facing slotted head portion 54 tofacilitate rotation of shaft 53 and gear sector 51 by means of anordinary screwdriver. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the shaft 53 ispositioned at the edge of the mounting device 23 so that head 54 issituated above the extremities of contact block 21 and is thereforeeasily accessible from the rear of the assembly by means of ascrewdriver. If preferred, head portion 54 may be made in the form of ahexagon or other shape, to accommodate common wrenches.

With previously commonly available one-hole panel mounted apparatus ofthe heavy duty oiltight pushbutton type the usual method of assemblyconsists of fastening the pushbutton retainer, which might be somewhatsimilar to the present retainer 5, to the panel by insertion of theretainer through a hole and turning a nut or flange on the threadedbushing from either the front or back of the panel. The units similar tothe present contact blocks 21 and 22 are then fastened directly toeither the retainer or the nut or flange which holds the retainer in thepanel hole. Examples of such conventional structures are illustrated inthe C. F. Robbins Patent No. 2,568,933, issued Sept. 25, 1961 and W. F.Nolden et a1 Patent No. 2,930,859, issued Mar. 29, 1960. These previousdesigns required that if the pushbutton retainer were to be fastened tothe panel before contact blocks were attached, the contact blocks mustbe later attached one at a time. Further, the wiring must besubsequently attached to the contact blocks in spaces which are usuallycrowded and confined.

With the present design the retainer 5 is first firmly secured to thepanel 4. A plurality of devices such as contact blocks 21 and 22 arethen attached to mounting device 23. The wiring may also be attached toterminals 32. The mounting device 23 with all attached apparatus is theneasily attached to the rear of bushing 5b by the engagement of lugs 45with camming surfaces 47 of grooves 46' caused by the turning of shaft53 with a screwdriver. The attachment of mounting device 23 can therebybe accomplished by a single worker on one side of the panel. Themounting device 23 with the attached apparatus is quickly and easilyalined and is attached without rotation of either the pushbuttonretainer 5 or the mounting device 23 and attached contact blocks 21 and22. In the event of repair, the apparatus attached to the rear of theretainer 5 may obviously be removed intact and much more easily andquickly than prior devices of the type previously described.

We claim:

1. An electrical device of the panel mounted type comprising:

a first portion for engaging the front of a panel and having acylindrical bushing for extending rearwardly through an aperture in saidpanel to the back of said panel and said bushing having threads on theouter diameter thereof;

fastening means comprising a nut engaging the threads on said bushingfor being tightened against the back of said panel to fasten said firstportion to said panel;

a second portion comprising electrical apparatus mounted on the rear ofsaid first portion; and

mounting means to which said second portion is fastened and which isremovably fastened to the rear of said first portion comprising:

a housing to which said apparatus is attached, and

latching means comprising a latch member rotatably held in said housinghaving means thereon for engaging the rearward end of said bushing uponrotation of said latch member for fastening said mounting means to saidbushing.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 in which:

said latch member comprises a latch ring;

said means on said latch member for engaging the rearward end of saidbushing comprises a plurality of lugs extending inwardly from the innerdiameter of said latch ring; and

said bushing has on its outer surface a plurality of correspondinggrooves with camming surfaces engaged by said lugs upon rotation of saidlatch ring.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1, together with means on saidbushing for engaging said housing for preventing rotation of saidhousing when said latch member is rotated.

4. The invention as defined in claim 1, in which said latch membercomprises a latch ring and said mounting means further comprises easilyaccessible driving means rotatably mounted near the edge of said housingfor engaging the periphery of said latch ring for causing said latchring to rotate when said driving means is r0- tated.

5. The invention as defined in claim 4, in which said latch ring has aseries of gear teeth formed on the periphery thereof and said drivingmeans comprises a gear sector having teeth engaging said gear teeth onsaid latch ring.

6. The invention as defined in claim 5, in which:

said means on said latch ring for engaging the rearward end of saidbushing comprises a plurality of lugs extending inwardly from the innerdiameter of said latch ring; and

said bushing has on its outer surface a plurality of correspondinggrooves with camming surfaces engaged by said lugs upon rotation of saidlatch ring;

7. An electrical apparatus of the panel mounted variety comprising:

an operator portion retaining manually operable means accessible fromthe front of a mounting panel and having a bushing on the rear thereoffor extending from the front of said panel through an aperture in saidpanel to the back of said panel;

a nut engaging the threads of said bushing for being tightened againstthe back of said panel to fasten said operator portion to said panel insaid aperture;

a second portion comprising electrical contacts operable by saidmanually operable means; and

mounting means comprising:

a housing to which said second portion is attached having a centralaperture through which said manually operable means communicates withsaid second portion; and

a latch member rotatably held by said housing and having means thereonfor engaging the rearward end of said bushing upon rotation of saidlatch ring for fastening said mounting means to said bushing.

8. The invention as defined in claims 7, together with means on saidbushing for engaging said housing for preventing rotation of saidhousing when said latch member is rotated.

9. The invention as defined in claim 7, in which said latch membercomprises a latch ring and said mounting means further comprises easilyaccessivle driving means rotatably mounted near the edge of said housingfor engaging the periphery of said latch ring for causing said latchring to rotate when said driving means is rotated.

10. The invention as defined in claim 9, in which said mounting meansfurther comprises easily accessivle driving means rotatably mounted nearthe edge of said housing for engaging the periphery of said latch ringfor causing said latch ring to rotate when said driving means isrotated.

11. The invention as defined in claim 7 in which:

said latch member comprises a latch ring;

said means on said latch ring for engaging the rearward end of saidbushing comprises a plurality of lugs extending inwardly from the innerdiameter of said latch ring; and

said bushing has on its outer surface a plurality of correspondinggrooves with camming surfaces engaged by said lugs upon rotation of saidlatch ring.

12. An assembly for mounting electrical apparatus comprising:

a support upon which said apparatus is mounted;

mounting means comprising:

a member to which said apparatus is fastened and which engages saidsupport;

a latch ring rotatably held by said member and having means thereon forengaging said support when said latch ring is placed so as to encirclesaid support and rotated with respect to said support;

means for rotating said latch ring comprising driving means rotatablymounted on said member engaging said latch ring and being positioned toone side of said member and beyond the extremities of said apparatussufficiently as to be accessible for rotation by manually operable meansto cause rotation of said latch ring; and

means on said support for engaging said member when said latch ring isplaced over said support for preventing rotation of said member whensaid latch ring is rotated to engage said support;

said means on said latch ring for engaging said support being effectivewhen said latch ring is rotated to tighten said member against saidsupport and thereby securely fasten said mounting means to said support.

13. The invention as defined in claim 12, in which:

said means on said latch ring for engaging said support comprises aplurality of lugs extending inwardly from the inner diameter of saidlatch ring; and

said support has on its outer surface a plurality of correspondinggrooves with eamming surfaces engaged by said lugs upon rotation of saidlatch ring.

14. The invention as defined in claim 12, in which said latch ring has aseries of gear teeth formed on the periphery thereof and said drivingmeans comprises a gear sector having teeth engaging said gear teeth onsaid latching ring.

15. The invention as defined in claim 13, in which said latch ring has aseries of gear teeth formed on the periphery thereof and said drivingmeans comprises a gear sector having teeth engaging said gear teeth onsaid latching ring.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1956 Kryder 200168 4/1966Hermanson et a1. 200168

1. AN ELECTRICAL DEVICE OF THE PANEL MOUNTED TYPE COMPRISING: A FIRSTPORTION FOR ENGAGING THE FRONT OF A PANEL AND HAVING A CYLINDRICALBUSHING FOR EXTENDING REARWARDLY THROUGH AN APERTURE IN SAID PANEL TOTHE BACK OF SAID PANEL AND SAID BUSHING HAVING THREADS ON THE OUTERDIAMETER THEREOF; FASTENING MEANS COMPRISING A NUT ENGAGING THE THREADSON SAID BUSHING FOR BEING TIGHTENED AGAINST THE BACK OF SAID PANEL TOFASTEN SAID FIRST PORTION TO SAID PANEL; A SECOND PORTION COMPRISINGELECTRICAL APPARATUS MOUNTED ON THE REAR OF SAID FIRST PORTION; ANDMOUNTING MEANS TO WHICH SAID SECOND PORTION IS FASTENED AND WHICH ISREMOVABLY FASTENED TO THE REAR OF SAID FIRST PORTION COMPRISING: AHOUSING TO WHICH SAID APPARATUS IS ATTACHED, AND LATCHING MEANSCOMPRISING A LATCH MEMBER ROTATABLY HELD IN SAID HOUSING HAVING MEANSTHEREON FOR EN-